Day 145: The Fighter

"That guy did not just get off the fuckin' couch. If he did, I'm gonna get a couch like that."

There are some genres where pretty much every single movie it churns out is pretty much the same as the last one you watched. The "sports-film" genre isn't really any different. But here, in this genre, we have subcategories. There are not just sports-films, but Boxing-sports-films. They all pretty much include the same story. Some schmuck who wasn't very smart in school, is a poor bum who happens to have a "talent": he could knock people out. Through this God-given ability to smash heads like pumpkins, he falls in love, makes some money, and resolves most of the strained relationships in his life. The good ones though, don't really break the formula as much as they try and do what they can to poke some holes into it.

Day 144: Knife In The Water

"Always remember that there is nothing more dangerous than a concealed weapon under the water."

Roman Polanski's directional debut deals with the intense rivalry between two men who are at different stages of their lives, but reflect each other in every single way. A film that only contains three characters and that is basically only taking place within the confined walls of a sailboat, can only succeed and invoke interest by quality acting and impeccable direction. None of these actors had any previous experience but that wasn't noticeable and we all know that Polanski has always had a gift when creating tension between characters and building a stressful, suspenseful experience for the audience to endure. We're given front row seats to a clash of generations and we are also reminded how idiotic a man can be when trying to impress a woman who isn't impressed by silly acts of selfishness.

Day 143: Shoot the Piano Player

“On my birthday, when I said everyone gets a kiss, it was so I could kiss you.”

The French New Wave was a statement by French filmmakers about the climate of Hollywood and French filmmaking in the 50’s and 60’s. In order to bypass typical stories with the same characters and plot setup, directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut attempted to shift the wave of film making to honest accounts of life. Instead of crafting films with typical arcs and archetypes, they wandered down a path less traveled that allowed for a film to breathe with a sense of spontaneity. Their films were filled with long, gestating moments of dialogue between characters who often betrayed the archetype Hollywood and French cinema established for them. In addition to this,  French New Wave films were highly experimental with narrative structure and editing techniques that were seen as film faux pas. If there was ever a film that summed up Truffaut’s desire to create a film entirely its own, an entity outside formula, it would be his second feature length film Shoot the Piano Player.

Day 142: Blue Valentine

You would think there is nothing new to say about love. There may not be. And, when there is nothing new to say, is it possible to really experience evocative moments? Of course it is. The solution is in how one communicates their love (anyone can recall those moments when they’ve uttered the words “I love you” out of duty, or when they’ve been on the receiving end of one of those). Hollywood, for the most part, has only had two ways to talk about love: Through the classical Hollywood days until rather recently, it’s been in sharp, charming dialogue with two characters who are complete opposites growing to like each other. This is still a common treatment, but the arrival of Woody Allen in particular introduced a new kind of dialogue: a cynical (but still quick witted), slightly nostalgic tone.